Garden hoses are a necessity for homeowners and the like for lawn and garden care, as well as general all-around home care. Typically, hoses are found either wound and left on the ground near a water spigot, or wound on one of many known hose reel-type storage devices. These devices include portable hose reel carts, stationary frames, and stationary hose reel hangers that can be mounted to a surface of a building, such as an outer wall of a house. A typical portable hose reel cart, or frame, includes a rotatable reel or spool in which a hose is wrapped around, positioned between a pair of side frames. The hose reel cart may further contain a pair of hubs which are coupled to the housing structure. Common hose reel assemblies may also contain a crank for rotating the reel or spool such that the hose can be wound or unwound about the spool. To provide for flow of water from a water source to the hose, hose reel structures further contain water conduits. Typical water conduits have a movable outlet tube and a generally stationary inlet tube. The stationary inlet of the conduit extends away from the reel and is structured to be coupled to a supply hose which is further coupled to a water supply. The movable outlet of the conduit is disposed on the circumference of the reel. An outlet hose is coupled to the movable outlet and is used to deliver water to the end use. The hose is merely wound upon the reel for storage, and pulled or dispensed from the reel for use. These carts include wheels to permit ready transport of the hose from one location to another.
Hose carts are commonly purchased by the general consumer, wherein it is desirable that the hose cart can be easily assembled with minimal use of hand tools. In an effort to provide easy-to-assemble hose reel assemblies, they are typically made of plastic and sold with as many preassembled parts as possible. While such efforts have provided the general consumer with a product that is ready to use out of the box, disassembly for maintenance or repair can be difficult for some consumers. For example, in some prior art devices, it is difficult to have difficulty in secure the reel hub which is necessary for the introduction of water. The reel hub must allow rotation yet allow the device to be hooked up to a water supply wherein the hose can be reeled inward or outward without interfering with the flow of water. Seals within the hub allow rotation without leakage. The problem occurs when the seal requires service, either in the form of lubrication or replacement. In addition, the water conduit, such as inlet and outlet devices, often needs lubrication or replacement. Sealing devices, such as O-rings, are often used to prevent fluid leakage. Long-term use or storage of the hose reel assemblies in changing climates requires maintenance to ensure that the hose reel works properly. Typical hose reels require the consumer to disassemble the inlet/outlet assembly in order to replace worn sealing devices or the inlet/outlet conduits themselves. As such, maintenance procedures that are difficult or require extended amounts of time result in the consumer failing to properly maintain the hose reel assemblies. Failure to properly maintain the devices results in further deterioration and eventual failure.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is an improved inlet/outlet fluid conduit which can be maintained without the need for costly tools and time consuming replacement procedures.